Life begins again

Pregnancy and birth is really God's most amazing miracle. As I sit here nursing our newest addition, Kane Jaron, who is now three weeks old, I still am having a hard time grasping the entire thing...and we've already been through this once before! It is hard for me to fathom the fact that he grew inside of me for 39 weeks, and now he is here on this earth. Only God could have made something so unbelievable happen.

It was only a little over two years ago when we began our adoption

journey because we thought we'd never have biological children. I never would have believed you if you'd told me then that within two years I'd have given birth to these two babies. I wouldn't have even believed that I'd have one child! It just goes to show that you never know what God has in store for you. Like I've said before, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." When I showed Kevin the positive pregnancy test last fall, all he could say (over and over again) was, "No. No way." We were both kind of in shock as we thought that even if we did have another baby that we may have to endure more miscarriages before God gave us another baby to stay with us here.  Adriana was only about eight months old so these two are about 17 months apart. It felt like we were barely recovered from the last pregnancy and getting the hang of our baby girl! I was almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight, too! Despite all of our apprehensions, though, we were overjoyed (and still are).

The last nine months have actually gone by fairly quickly for me. I was not nearly as nervous as my pregnancy with Adriana so I was not consumed with worry. I just love being pregnant...I get to eat a lot and get fat (but in a cute way). I didn't have any complications this time around either so that eased some of the stress. We also didn't need to do much to prepare since we had everything from Adriana. Some of the stuff never even got packed away! Our biggest stressor was probably choosing a name! We had a boys name from when Adriana was born, but we decided not to use it so we had to come up with two more name that we both agreed on. Kevin and I have very different tastes so it is not easy. If we had a boy, I really wanted to use "Jaron" for the middle name (after my adorable little cousin who watches over our angel babies in Heaven) in case we never had another boy. Finally, a couple weeks before we had Kane, I gave Kevin a list of boy names that I thought went with our middle name, and the only one he liked was Kane (which is also my brother's middle name)...so that was that!

So my life is now hectic, and at times, I feel like I'm barely

Yes! Kane's in there. She had to give him a kiss.

surviving. I'm lacking sleep but rarely get a nap because I have

a 1 1/2 year old who never stops! My house is a disaster. Right now you can see what Adriana's eaten for the last three days because there are food particles spread all over the floor around her high chair, and the rest of the kitchen floor is sticky from watermelon juice. The dishes are piled high, and there are baskets of clean clothes waiting to be brought upstairs and put away. There are land mines (aka blocks) all over both living room floors, and it really sucks when you step on one. Weeds are taking over my landscaping, and my flowers are dying in this heat from lack of watering. My life is perfect, though. I've waited my whole life to have these kids, and I wouldn't change a thing. I tear up when I look at them because I still can't believe they're here..and they're ours.

No room for groceries!

I often feel inadequate, but I know many other moms have gone through these times after a baby is born. I think that I'm actually surviving a lot better than after Adriana. I've made supper a couple times, and I actually did a grocery trip alone with the two kids! For some that may not be a lot, but I really struggled after Adriana, and I expected it to be worse with two kids so this is a pleasant surprise. I think I'm doing better for a few different reasons. 

1. My mom and sisters took care of us for two weeks, where I only had help for one week the first time. 
2. My c-section recovery seems like it is going to be shorter and more manageable than my first recovery. It has been three weeks, and for the most part, I don't feel any pain. I am able to walk around, get in and out of chairs, and take care of my babies. Last time, it was almost three months before I was pain-free.
3. Kane sleeps more during the day than Adriana did. That allows me to spend more time with Adriana and even do things around the house a little bit. Today, for example, I was able to sit with Adriana in the bathroom waiting for her to go poop on the potty for almost twenty minutes! (and she did go! This is the second time! Yay! Small victories!)
4. I sort of knew what to expect. Since I'd been through the postpartum stage before, I knew it was going to be hard. The two months after Adriana was born was definitely the most difficult time I've ever had. I knew the nights would be long, that I'd be lucky to get a shower in each day, and that I'd be over-the-top exhausted. It wasn't such a shock this time.

Each day is long because it's the same as before but the weeks are going by fast. I'm living my dream and embracing life's little moments. I'm trying to remember to take pictures and videos because life is moving too fast. They won't stay this way for long. 

We're in survival mode, but I wouldn't have it any other way.